PdH at FINDER ERC Project – Bourses de recherche Allemagne 2019

FINDER is a multidisciplinary research project funded by the European Research Council (2017-2022) focusing on the discovery and analyses of new human fossils from Pleistocene Asia through the application of collagen peptide mass fingerprinting, also known as ZooMS, and other scientific methods (ancient DNA, radiocarbon dating, stable isotopes) on small and otherwise undiagnostic bone fragments. We are looking for remains of Neanderthals, Denisovans or modern humans from the period between 100,000 to 30,000 years ago. Thousands of bones are excavated at an average prehistoric site; of these, only the ones with anatomical characteristics are studied and may be taxonomically classified. The vast majority of bones, however, are small and lacking diagnostic features. These unidentified assemblages are very likely to contain human bones that are too fragmentary to be attributed securely to...